MMA News Thread

[heyzel]

One year after winning UFC title. Serra still looking for respect

NEW YORK — Fight! Black Belt. Fitness RX. FightSport. Status Fitness. Ultimate Grappling.

Those are just some of the magazines slated to feature mixed martial arts fighter Georges St. Pierre on the cover in advance of his April 19 fight against welterweight champion Matt (The Terror) Serra at UFC 83 in Montreal's Bell Centre. St. Pierre's management counts nine potential covers as well as fashion spreads in two other magazines.

Serra is still waiting for his phone to ring.

"Wow, we need some of those, don't we?" he said sarcastically. "Maybe after this fight I'll be on some covers."

"I'm just the guy that beat him," the 170-pound champion added.

One year after shocking the MMA world with a first-round stoppage of then champion St. Pierre, Serra is still searching for respect.

The five-foot-six fighter from Long Island, N.Y., was up against a 10-1 favourite at UFC 69 in Houston but he staggered St. Pierre early with a blow to the head and then calmly put him away. Going into UFC 83, St. Pierre is a 5-1 favourite, according to some bookmakers.

While Serra (16-4) is a self-proclaimed jokester, he's also a proud champion. He's not interested in talk of a better, refocused GSP. And he's probably tired of being the other guy in the cage.

"You know it's funny. I'm hearing it wasn't the real GSP that night and now he's back," Serra told The Canadian Press in an interview at the Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in midtown Manhattan where St. Pierre also used to train until the two faced off. "I don't know, when I fought him, it looked like him. I mean it wasn't a stunt double. Who was that guy?"

Some still seem to have a hard time accepting that Serra beat St. Pierre, one of the sport's poster boys. Serra, after all, won his title shot on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. St. Pierre took down Matt Hughes, MMA's dominant welterweight champion.

The 33-year-old Serra is short and squat - a straight-shooter with a great sense of humour, but sometimes that entertainment can come with a sandpaper edge. At shows, he draws boos as well as cheers.

St. Pierre, 26, is easy on the eyes. Fans love the polite, well-mannered Canadian, who looks like he has stepped out of the pages of GQ with his taste for Armani and Dolce & Gabbana.

The two are miles apart.

"People just have to come to grips with how did this guy (Serra), who wasn't supposed to board the plane to Texas, beat this guy (St. Pierre), look at the size of him?" says Serra, building up a verbal head of steam. "He's (only) up to his nipples. How did he do that?"

The lack of respect fuels Serra, according to friend and coach Ray Longo.

"He's raring to go right now and I think the fact that he's still not getting any respect, he's raring to go even more," Longo said. "He really wants to get in there bad and prove that it wasn't a fluke."

A back injury and time spent as coach of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show combined to keep Serra out of the cage since beating St. Pierre. Serra was due to defend his title against Hughes in December but two herniated discs forced him to the sidelines.

St. Pierre (15-2) stepped in and submitted Hughes at UFC 79 to claim the UFC interim welterweight title. Serra and St. Pierre will now contest the real belt in Montreal.

In addition to stopping Hughes, St. Pierre looked impressive in handling Josh Koscheck at UFC 74 last August. The Canadian is 2-0 since losing his belt. Serra has yet to fight again.

"I've been fighting three, four times a week in the academy," he countered. "I'm the kind of guy what I do in the gym, I do in the cage, so I'll be ready to go."

Serra, who is shaped like a fire hydrant, was primarily known for his jiu-jitsu prowess but he showed power in his hands against St. Pierre, who was left dazed and dented in Houston. Longo, for one, was not surprised.

"He's the only guy to knock B.J. Penn down," Longo said. "He knocked Karo Parisyan out and back up again. I mean Karo was definitely out in that fight. That fight easily could have been stopped. Power to Karo for coming back.

"He has put people on their ass, he's broken a couple of jaws in sparring, he hits pretty hard."

In the past, Serra had used his striking mainly to set up a scenario where his jiu-jitsu could come into play. But Longo convinced him he could hurt St. Pierre with his fists, pointing to the damage he was doing to sparring partners.

"Ray Longo really came through and said 'Look man, look at you whacking these guys who are no slumps themselves, different weight classes and whatnot, you're hurting these guys in sparring all the time with the 16-ounce gloves, the guys are getting stopped how many times a round.

"You've got to believe that in the fight, with these little gloves, believe me you could hurt him.' And I believed him."

St. Pierre was younger, bigger, stronger. But Serra was better that night in Houston.

Despite being four inches taller and holding a considerable reach advantage, the 5-10 St. Pierre was unable to get his offence going and his defence wasn't up to snuff either. Serra clubbed him hard, scrambling the Canadian's brain and leaving him staggering like a newborn foal.

He then stalked St. Pierre, maintaining his distance to avoid a clinch, and kept firing away until the referee stepped in.

"All the guys I'm sparring with have reach equal if not better than him, so I'm used to it," Serra said. "But it's also about making up the distance, how your defence is. I'm kind of like a little ball, I'm kind of hard to whack - at least I am in sparring and I was in that fight."

While even St. Pierre has dismissed any suggestion that the punch that was the beginning of the end was a fluke, the Serra camp is sensitive to the notion.

"If it was a fluke, it was 10 flukey punches," said Longo.

Serra promises more of the same in Montreal. "I'm going to be a dangerous guy on the 19th."

The champion may no longer have the element of surprise in his striking but says St. Pierre still has to get close to him.

"If he wants to try to hurt me, he's going to have to get close to me to hurt me. If he wants to dance around the cage, I'm sure he'll get booed out of the Bell Centre. So he's going to have to try to come and make an example of me ... You're coming at me, I'm coming at you, man. We're two trains on the same track, let's rock."

While St. Pierre was gracious in defeat in Houston, bad blood bubbled when St. Pierre made some comments weeks later to The Fan 590, a Toronto all-sports radio station, that he had not trained much because of a knee injury and wouldn't have fought in that condition if he was facing Hughes and not Serra.

In truth, St. Pierre suffered a nightmarish run-up to his first title defence, preoccupied with his own injury, serious illnesses in his family and sorting out his priorities as a popular MMA champion.

Serra was not amused by his comments.

"How do I not get insulted by that," he told MMA Radio at the time.

"Drink your red wine, go to your hockey game and shut up," added Serra, referring to St. Pierre as Frenchy.

Months later, Serra is unrepentant.

"As far as whatever we had in the papers or magazines, if I'm disrespected, I'm going right back at somebody. So if someone makes excuses four or five weeks later, I'm not going to sit there and take it. And when I retaliate and they get offended for what I say when I retaliate, I say too bad. I was respectful after the fight . . . And all of a sudden, five weeks later you come up with a lot of excuses, so of course any proud athlete would be offended by that.

"So I shouldn't have said (that) after you said what you said? That's not the way it works, buddy."

Serra says he got the Frenchy red wine reference from the movie "Talladega Nights," where Will Ferrell goes up against a French driver played outrageously by Sacha Baron Cohen.

"If anybody knows me, they know I'm a jokester," Serra said. "I don't care, I said already, if he's French, Greek or Italian, it don't matter to me man. . . . Do I regret it? No.

"Lighten up, dude, relax. If you called me a little Joe Peschi, told me to eat a meatball hero, I wouldn't cry myself to sleep, all right? Relax dude, everybody just please lighten up

 

[heyzel]

UFC dangles upstate fights

By Justin Rodriguez
Times Herald-Record
April 10, 2008
Upstate cities Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Utica are all possible locations for an Ultimate Fighting Championship event — maybe even this year.

UFC began its effort to have mixed martial arts legalized in New York by announcing yesterday that it's committed to holding a fight upstate this year.

The UFC said one of its events will bring needed tourist revenue and tax dollars to any location chosen. UFC has already had discussions about bringing one of its cards to Madison Square Garden.

"Our events have brought millions of dollars in tax and tourist revenue to nearly every city we have held an event in," said UFC president Dana White. "Once New York joins New Jersey, Pennsylvania and 30 other states in regulating mixed martial arts, we will be thrilled to offer a UFC event this year to an upstate city and replicate its success all over the state."

A bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Scarsdale, is on the state Assembly's tourism, arts and sports education development committee's agenda.

To make mixed martial arts happen in New York, the bill would have to be passed in Albany and signed by Gov. David Paterson. The sport would be regulated by the state Athletic Commission.

"We are very bullish about mixed martial arts being approved in New York," said UFC spokesman Marc Ratner. "But we don't want to rush it. We hope to have fights in New York by late this year or in the first quarter of 2009."

If mixed martial arts is sanctioned in New York, it would not only clear the way for the UFC, but also for smaller leagues such as the International Fight League, Strikeforce, Bodog Fight and Combat in the Cage.

"I'll support it, but it's not the high mark of our societal evolution," said Assemblyman Tom Kirwan, R-Newburgh. "It's brutal, but it's not as brutal as boxing. Two consenting adults are going in there to fight."

UFC could help support a city's budget.

A recent UFC middleweight title unification match in Columbus, Ohio, produced a live gate of more than $2 million. In all, according to the UFC, the event produced $11 million in external economic activity for the city.

jrodriguez

 

[Shogun Locc]

‘The Russian Bear’ Dances Again

A takedown and pivot, the leg was secured. Moments later, after the proper pressure was applied, Moti Horenstein had no choice but to tapout from the excruciating pain of a kneebar.

That's how Oleg Taktarov triumphantly ended his first stint as a professional mixed martial artist.

Four months ago against John Marsh (Pictures), Taktarov similarly jump-started his second foray into the sport via the leg lock that threatens to pop kneecaps like those little plastic confetti champagne bottles on New Year's.

After nearly a full decade away from the trade that allowed him to legally remove another man from consciousness, it's hard to argue the 39-year-old Russian forgot how to perform his trademark sambo submissions.

One of the pioneers of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Taktarov (15-5-2) embarked on a fighting career that elicited loyalty from a legion of hardcore fans. Though he toppled quite a few popular fighters in his day and captured the UFC 6 title, Taktarov's time as an active mixed martial artist lasted just more than four years before he walked away.

"I went into a very successful business career in Russia: acting," said Taktarov, who headlines Friday's Yamma Pit Fighting pay-per-view card from Atlantic City. "Right now you can say my acting career is a bit shaky. In the United States it's a nice place to live but in Russia, it's a whole different story right now. I just finished a movie called ‘Montana' and I have some other things in the works, too. I'm confident that I will be able to accomplish some very nice things and I'm sure they will be mostly in United States."

Though he may not be in high demand in Tinseltown, Taktarov, with his piercing grayish-blue eyes and heavy Russian inflection, appeared in dozens of movies with varying measures of camera time. The fighter has graced the silver screen alongside many of Hollywood's giants in such works as "Air Force One," "15 Minutes," "National Treasure" and "Miami Vice," though most know him as the man who liked to choke out his opponents in the UFC's infancy.

Taktarov decided to put the gloves back on and put his script reading and retakes on hold. But unlike many a fighter who climbs back into the realm of combat after having been away from a lengthy duration, Taktarov said he's not doing it because he needs to.

"I don't like to do things for money or because I have to do them," he stated while trying to warm up from the lingering New Jersey winter. "I like to do things that I love to do and when I do things, I want to go for the biggest, most exciting things. Right now, I don't have to work for money and I don't have to take parts in movie because I have to. I can take a year [off] from movies, so right now I have some free time on my hands.

"I don't want to work on some cheesy B movie," the fighter-turned-actor-turned-fighter continued. "I want to be here in the United States and I want to do something big. Right now, Yamma Pit Fighting with their different game plan and their arena, it's never been done before. Their cage, how you call it, it's really something to look at."

Taktarov could have easily come out of retirement on many an occasion but opted not to because, as he put it, it wasn't worth the effort. He didn't want to waste his time, especially while earning a comfortable rate by appearing in roles on both television and cinema; there just was no need to kill himself in the gym.

"I don't like to go fight in some small show that no one would know about, you know, just for money," he said. "It's very important to be a spotlight; it's got to be something big that we could talk about. In this case, it's Bob Meyrowitz back in action and I feel that it's going to be huge. It's going to be nice to compete and fight in the United States 10 years after [I retired]."

When Taktarov climbs into the Yamma Pit Fighting cage inside the Trump Taj Mahal, it'll be like old times, what with UFC co-creator Meyrowitz running the show and his scheduled opponent, fellow UFC pioneer Mark Kerr (Pictures).

"This has been a very long process in getting an opponent for me," a somewhat agitated Taktarov sighed. "Originally I was supposed to fight Don Frye (Pictures) and that was going to be very exciting for me. With Don Frye, some people used to compare us in fighting, but he couldn't do the fight. So then from Don Frye it turned into another guy, then another guy and then another guy and now we have Mark Kerr. I just keep my fingers crossed that he's going to stay healthy and that the fight is going to happen."

Like most fans shelling out $34.95 to watch the card from home, Taktarov is uncertain what to expect from Kerr, whose record stands at 15-6 with one no-contest.

"The Smashing Machine," also 39, battled a horrendous chemical dependence and has looked like nothing more than a shell of the man who once was the most feared fighter in MMA. Still, Taktarov understands that he can't fool himself into believing it may be an easy fight.

"I used to watch Mark Kerr fight and he was very impressive," the Russian revealed. "He had a nickname -- ‘The Specimen' -- and he had many very impressive victories and back then I thought it would have been tough to fight him. But now he's been taking the time and cleaning up some of that extra stuff he put into his body and became a normal person. So now we'll what he's all about. I expect him to be very strong and determined."

Taktarov admitted that he plans on eventually fighting the best there is in the sport but can't decide on whether to campaign at 205 pounds or heavyweight. He walks around comfortably at 215 and can easily make both weight classes, though the magnitude of future opponents would determine which side of the scale he'll lean on in the coming months.

Still, Taktarov realizes that he's not quite at his best just yet; he stills needs some time to fine-tune his arsenal.

"I personally feel that I'm almost there," he said. "Last fall I felt good but something was missing. But now I finally got back into fighting shape, and it doesn't really matter who I am fighting. I just need to keep focus. And speaking of conditioning, my fighting style and preparation, I think I am much better now than 10 years ago."

 

[Shogun Locc]

Chris Leben Calls Out Okami And Bisping

Chris Fries and The JDH of Tagg Radio's The Lights Out Show interviewed top UFC middleweight Chris Leben on their last show (volume 111), and as we know, he's always got something interesting to say. Here are some excerpts from the show.

Leben Calling Out Yushin Okami And Michael Bisping:
"We're talking to Joe (Silva - UFC Match Maker), and we're starting to look for a fight. If you win 4 or 5 fights in a row, you're pretty much guaranteed a title show, so I figured maybe Okami or Bisping would be a fun fight for me."

Leben On A Boxing Match Up Between Anderson Silva and Roy Jones Jr.:

"Sure a boxer beats a UFC guy in boxing, but the bottom line is what's cooler? (MMA) Fighting, right?!"

To hear the rest of this interview, tune into The Lights Out Show on the Tagg Radio Network at www.TaggRadio.com. Live shows every Tuesday and Thursday 8e/5p. Archive shows available to listen to anytime afterward at www.thelightsoutshow.com, www.iTunes.com, and www.myspace.com/thelightsoutshow.

 

[Shogun Locc]

R-E-S-P-E-C-T: MMAmania.com exclusive UFC 83 interview with Michael Bisping

It’s no secret that Michael “The Count” Bisping and Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy are not exactly friendly with one another. The two have traded insults over the past few weeks. You can see the evidence here and here.

But a week from Saturday all will be settled inside the Octagon. They’ll have a chance to put their money where their mouths are at UFC 83: “Serra vs. St. Pierre 2″ on April 19 in Montreal, Quebec.

I caught up with Bisping to see how he’s been preparing to counter McCarthy’s submission attempts, find out his thoughts on his previous fights with Rashad Evans and Matt Hamill, and to ask him point blank how he responds to criticism from some fans who feel he’s been pampered by the UFC (he makes a pretty convincing argument that it’s all “rubbish&#8221.

Always candid, Bisping shed light on the UFC’s middleweight division and the reason he’d really like to fight someone who’s not afraid to stand and bang with him.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Thanks, Michael. We appreciate you taking the time to talk … we know you’re busy getting ready to fight Charles “Chainsaw” McCarthy at UFC 83 in Montreal, Canada. This is your middleweight debut. How important is a win?

Michael Bisping: It’s a must-win situation. I have to win this fight. I lost my last fight — it’s the only loss of my career — but I don’t want to make a habit of losing. This is my first fight at 185, and I want to start it off in the right way. I don’t want to start off with a loss.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You two have traded barbs in the press. He called you “average” in every way. You called him your “fat little friend.”

Michael Bisping: Yeah (laughs).

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Let’s get right to it. How badly do you want to knock this guy’s head off?

Michael Bisping: I’d like to make a statement with this fight because he’s not only disrespected me, but he’s disrespected all my previous opponents and disrespected my skills. He said I’m average, and to be honest, I think I’m far from average. So I want to teach the guy a lesson. He has no respect, so I’d like to teach him some respect.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): All 10 of McCarthy’s victories have come via submission (half of which are by armbar). Clearly, he’ll want to submit you as soon as possible. How have you been preparing to counter this?

Michael Bisping: Yeah, of course he’s going to look to try to submit me. I think that’s his only hope, to be honest. He probably has got better gi jiu-jitsu — who knows, he might have the edge on me. I’m no slouch on the ground either, myself, but let’s assume that he has. But I don’t think he has better MMA jiu-jitsu, I think the two are two different things.

In preparation for this fight … obviously number one, he’s going to have to get me down to the ground. My takedown defense is pretty good. I’ve been working with some good wrestlers to keep the fight on the feet. I’ve been working with various different blackbelts out here in California. Of course we do a lot of jiu-jitsu at our gym in England, as well, but I’ve been rolling with a bunch of different guys to get me sharp on the ground and get my submission defense good.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Have you been training up in Big Bear?

Michael Bisping: No, not for this fight. I’ve trained with the Wolfslair, with my team in England leading up to the fight, and then for the last three or four weeks I’ve been out here in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Between you and McCarthy, only three fights total have gone to decision, which makes me think this is going to be a quick fight. Let’s assume I’m wrong though. Do you think McCarthy will be able to be effective going into a third round with you?

Michael Bisping: No, I really don’t. I really don’t think he’ll be able to be effective in the third round against me. I don’t think he’ll be able to be effective in the first round — you know, maybe for the first minute or two, but I set a fast pace early, and that’s what I’m going to do in this fight. I assume he’ll probably be gassing toward the end of the first round.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Has that played into your preparation at all? Have you prepared for a quick fight?

Michael Bisping: No, I’ve been going three six-minute rounds everyday, whether it’s wrestling or sparring — whatever it is, I’ve been doing that everyday, so I can go the distance. I could go five rounds if I wanted to, to be honest. That’s where my cardio is right now. But if the fight is over in 30 seconds, then that’s great, you know. But I’m prepared to go the full distance.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You’re coming off the first loss of your career to Rashad Evans. Take us back to that fight. What could you have done to better prepare yourself for that fight?

Michael Bisping: Well, I trained in the gym in England, and obviously in England, it’s hard to get a lot of good wrestlers. So any preparation I would have changed would have been to try and get more high-caliber wrestlers to train with everyday.

That’s kind of what let me down, but I still feel I did well on the wrestling front. To be honest, I should have pushed the action a little bit more. So if I changed anything, I would have pushed the pace a little bit more. But you learn from your mistakes.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): A lot of people think that your split decision victory over Matt Hamill should have gone the other way. I’ll be honest with you, though, I’m not one of them. I thought that it was a close fight, no question, but it wasn’t the closest I’ve ever seen. What’s your take on that fight, and would you be willing to give Hamill a rematch later on down the road, even if it meant returning to 205?

Michael Bisping: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I’ve watched the fight a few times since then. The fight was really close. He won the first round, definitely. But I think I just scraped rounds two and three. I landed more shots.

A lot of people who just listen to the commentary seem to think that Hamill won the fight, but if you watch the fight with an open mind and don’t listen to the biased commentary, then you might have a different opinion. All the professionals involved in the sport gave it to me. Sherdog.com scored it 29-28, the judges scored it 29-28, the referee … Joe Silva agreed I should have won. A lot of people like that think that I won the fight. Although 29-28, you know, is a close fight.

I can see why some people would argue the other way, but for some people to say that it was completely the biggest fucking robbery ever is just ridiculous. But to be honest, I’m sick of talking about it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I know going into that fight you two weren’t exactly fond of each other. Since you fought him, did you gain any more respect for him?

Michael Bisping: Yeah, you gotta respect the guy. He’s definitely improved, he’s a tough competitor. He’s a tough guy, he’s tough as hell. So I respect him on that front. He cried and moaned a bit about the decision afterwards. He wrote some things on his Web site, and this and that, which obviously I wasn’t too keen on (laughs). But whatever. Like I say, I’m kinda done talking about that subject.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Okay, well, excluding your most recent fights with Hamill and Rashad, one of the criticisms that has followed you is that the UFC has pampered you a bit, feeding you fighters who might not be at your level to help not only build your name, but also to leverage your reputation to help break into the British market. How do you respond to these criticisms?

Michael Bisping: Well quite simply like this: I think that’s just not the case. If you look at my first fight with Eric Schafer he had a 9-1 record and was coming off a solid victory (over Rob MacDonald) in the UFC where he choked his guy unconscious. That was the first fight on my contract, and I passed the test.

My second fight was Elvis Sinosic, who certainly didn’t have the best record but he’s very, very experienced. He’s fought a lot of people. And Forrest Griffin also fought Elvis Sinosic on the second fight of his Ultimate Fighter contract.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): That’s right.

Michael Bisping: My third fight was Matt Hamill, who’s a huge 205er and a world-class wrestler — an internationally decorated wrestler. For any U.K. guys, a wrestler is going to be a problem because wrestling is kinda like our kryptonite. So I wouldn’t say that that was favorable match-making.

And my last fight was Rashad Evans, who again is a powerful, recognized wrestler and one of the top guys in the 205-pound division. So I think when you look at it like that, it doesn’t really stack up well that I’m being protected. But you can’t please everyone, and everyone is going to moan and bitch and whine about something, so, there’s nothing to it.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well now that you’re a Middleweight, there are a handful of Middleweights who are known for being sluggers, like Nate Quarry and Chris Leben. Are there any Middleweights in particular who you’d like to fight, just because it’d make for an exciting matchup? I mean, obviously if you could get a title shot, that would be your first priority, but beyond that, are there any Middleweights who you would just like to bang with?

Michael Bisping: Yeah, exactly, I don’t want to single anyone out in particular, because I’ve got no history with anyone at 185. But that’s what I want, I want to go out there and have a fight with some guys and just let it all loose and just bang it out, you know.

My last two fights have been against wrestlers who were going to try and take me down, which means I’ve got to adapt to their style. You know, I can’t let loose with my punches like I’d like to, or time my kicks, because I know the guy’s just going to try to take me down.

This fight is going to be a similar scenario because he’s looking to take me down. He’s going to look for me to make a mistake so he can take me down and try to get into his world.

So I’m really looking forward to a good stand-up brawl, a good fight where I can just let it all loose, and just really let it go and fight. I mean, that’s what I’d like to do. I’ve got a good chin. I’ve never been knocked out or TKO’d. I’ve done a lot of kickboxing in the past, so that’s what I’d like to do, and I’m looking forward to when that day comes, and I’m sure it will too.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Yeah, well, I’d love to see that, too. Another middleweight fighter, Jason MacDonald, has talked about you. Although he said that he thinks you are a quality fighter, but he would love the opportunity to fight you, just because he thinks that your styles match up in his favor. Is there any interest in that fight?

Michael Bisping: Well for me not really. He’s just another jiu-jitsu guy who would look to try to take me down again. I’m not interested in those kinds of match ups. He’s been beat by Rich Franklin — and Rich Franklin is out of title contention right now — and he’s been beat by him. So it doesn’t really make any sense for me to want to fight him right now. I’d gain nothing from it.

Thanks to The Ultimate Fighter I’m quite widely recognized in MMA, so he’s probably just looking to make a name off trying to beat me. So that fight would be good for him — I don’t mean good for him in terms of, you know, he’d be able to beat me, but rather, I mean he’d gain more from that fight by beating me than I stand to gain from beating him. You know, I’m just aiming for a title right now.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Sure. Hey, someone asked me if you keep in touch with Ross Pointon on at all?

Michael Bisping: Not really. The short answer is no. I see him and catch up with him and say hello. He’s a friend, but Ross is busy doing his thing, and I’m busy doing mine.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): UFC 83 features some good fights. I’m actually stoked because I just found out recently that I’ll be going. There are a lot of good middleweight match ups, including Rich Franklin vs. Travis Lutter. Who do you like in that fight?

Michael Bisping: Um … well I don’t know, you know, I think it’s going to be an intriguing fight to watch. If he looks like he did against Anderson Silva, you kinda lean toward Travis Lutter, to be honest. But I’m expecting Rich Franklin to beat him. But I think Travis Lutter will give him a good fight.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Well, Michael, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us, as I know you are really busy. Would you like to thank any sponsors, and do you have any parting words for your fans?

Michael Bisping: Yeah sure. I’d just like to say thanks to all my fans who tune in to watch and who send me messages through my Web site. It really does mean a lot, and it’s not something I take for granted. So I’d like to thank them all for that. For me, just coming from a normal background, it really does blow my mind to be able to even say that I have fans. It seems kind of strange, but they’re treating me right.

I’d like to thank my sponsors, TapOuT and Hostility. If people want to follow what I’m up to, they can also check out my Web site. Hopefully stop by, and if you’re a real fan, buy a bloody t-shirt (laughs).

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tyson Griffin vs. Marcus Aurelio UFC 86 fight in the works

Lightweights Tyson Griffin (11-1) and Marcus Aurelio (16-5) are penciled in to scrap at UFC 86: “Jackson vs. Griffin” at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 5, according to MMAWeekly.com.

Griffin — considered a top 155-pound contender even though he has finished just one opponent (David Lee) inside the Octagon in five attempts — is on a three-fight win streak since dropping a fight to Frank Edgar via unanimous decision at UFC 67: “All or Nothing” in February 2007.

He most recently outpointed Gleison Tibau on all three judges scorecards at UFC 81: “Breaking Point” back in February. It was a rather lackluster contest for Griffin’s standards — his fights are usually exciting even though a majority of them thus far in the UFC have ended in decisions.

It’s going to be a hard trend to buck, however, against an opponent such as Aurelio.

“Maximus” — a very talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu player who made a name for himself under the Pride FC banner — is beginning to find some rhythm inside the cage after losing his UFC debut to Clay Guida via unanimous decision at UFC 74: “Respect” in August 2007.

The American Top Team (ATT)-trained fighter has won his last two contests, taking out Luke Caudillo (technical knockout) and Ryan Roberts (submission), respectively, his last two times out. Aurelio is very well paid for UFC standards, meaning that he needs to step up against stiffer competition to prove his worth.

Griffin is certainly a big test.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Video: Kim Couture, Jay Hieron, Griffin & Silva Training at Xtreme Couture

videolink: http://www.rawvegas.tv/watch.php?vID=20c7dca82b279a37c194fdb02097e6

 

[Shogun Locc]

Fedor's new interview

In May the first ever MMA tournament will hit Nizhny Novgorod. The organizers name the show 'The Cup of Fedor Emelianenko'. Below is the short review of the latest interview with Fedor.

-What is your impression on M-1 Challenge 2 in Saint Peterburg?

-Everything went smoothly. Very well organized. The only better Russian event I've experienced was the one when Vladimir Putin was among the spectators. Vadim Finkelstein arrange things perfectly. I believe the fans were pleased with the show. The bouts were exciting, especially Korea vs Finland. Japan vs Russian Legion team was decent as well. As for the results, I expected them to be 3:2in favor of either Russia or Japan. I was not impressed with the superfights. Amar Suloev won the bout easily against rather weak opposition. Roman Zentsov didn't deliver any fireworks. He can do so much better than that. Alexander's opponent was not dangerous at all but shortly before the event suffered an injury and had to quit. That forced promoters to look for another opponent to accept the clash on a short notice. I can understand that but still...I had gotten injured a lot of times before big fights. Prior to the Mark Hunt fight I broke my finger. Befor the Nogueira fight I got injure, too. Coming into the Mirko bout there were problems with my legs. Of course it was kept in secret. You never know...But I knew how important those fights were. That's why I entered the ring then.



-Could you comment on the contractual situation? You were supposed to fight at least 3 times a year in M-1 Global. People say there is no contract anymore and you are a free agent now...

- The agreement is still valid. The only nuance is that the long debates ensued in the rearrangement inside M-1 Global. It's led by Vadim Finkelstein from now on. According to the agreement I'll fight 3 times this year: supposedly in July, October, and on the New Year's Eve.



-Staying true to tradition?

-(Laughs) Looks like I'll have to leave for Japan for the sixth time in a row. I'm always happy to come back there.



-On April, 5 you were among other 80 athletes caryring the Olympic torch. What did you feel then?

-Excitement. Very emotional moment. I'm very thankful for the opportunity. Each athlete would ran 250 metres.



-Can you reveal your plans for the immediate future?

-I intend to make a trip to the sea with my family. This year I had no time for it since I was busy: preparing for the Combat Sambo tournaments, seminars, negotiation. Right now I plan to spendabout 10 days by the sea. Thereafter we are going to Nizhny Novgorod with Vadim. Some Red Devil fighters will take part in the show there, also the local fighters from Nizhny Novgorod I trained with in Stary Oskol will fight, too. Then in May we plan to get to France to support MMA there which was banned there forever. The situation changed and Mixed Martial Arts were legalized. I'll hold a seminar there. Then the hard work will commence - I'll be preparing for the next fight.

 

[Shogun Locc]

ST. PIERRE FOCUSED ON SERRA, OPEN TO SILVA

Make no mistake about it Georges St. Pierre is currently focused on reclaiming the Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title he lost at the hands of Matt Serra. He will get his chance, in front of his hometown crowd in Montreal, on April 19 when the two meet in the main event of UFC 83.

“I do a lot of imagery. I have seen these things before and when I walk into the Octagon on April 19 it seems to me it won’t be the first time that it has happened because I have been through the scenario before,” said St. Pierre on Thursday’s pre-fight conference call.

He added, “I know how to fight him. I’m going to fight him in a way that nobody has fought him before. I’m going to do some stuff that nobody has seen before.”

Despite the task at hand, St. Pierre’s future has continually garnered more attention. In particular, he has been adding name after name to his list of accomplishments in the welterweight division. If he is able to defeat Serra, the field fighters for him in the UFC’s 170-pound class narrows severely.

There are possible welterweight fights on the horizon in Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves, but a true blockbuster event has recently been gathering steam in the form of a challenge to Anderson Silva’s middleweight championship.

Silva has dominated the 185-pound division since his arrival in the UFC. In six bouts, he has yet to venture outside of the second round, finishing every one of his opponents; a list that includes Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin and Nate Marquardt. He seems unstoppable.

A showdown between two of the UFC’s most popular stars, St. Pierre and Silva, would seem to be a monumental event. But to make a fight happen, the first order of business is for both to agree to fight each other. St. Pierre, at least, has given it thought and is open to the challenge.

“I’ve been thinking about it. It’s going to depend on the scenario. I have a lot of training partners at 185 and my weight class is 170. I would never get into the way of one of my training partners,” he stated. “I would never fight somebody I train with. But if one day, I have the opportunity, the way is clear, and I did everything I had to do in my division, of course I will (fight Silva).”

Of course any such talk is still premature, as St. Pierre must first get beyond Serra on April 19.

 

[Shogun Locc]

LESSON LEARNED, HAMILL FINISHES STRONG

Matt "The Hammer" Hamill defeated Tim Boetsch by TKO at UFC Fight Night 13, his third TKO victory in his five Ultimate Fighting Championship bouts.

Coming off the controversial decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 75 in England, Hamill did not want to go to a decision against Boetsch and leave it in the hands of the judges.

"I've learned my lesson in my fight with Bisping," Hamill told MMAWeekly.com. "I can not leave it to the judges."

Discussing the fight, the Ohio native commented, "That was a hard, hard fight. I just wanted to finish it before the third round and get it over with because I knew the first round was real close. I didn't want to go anywhere near the third round. I just wanted to finish him."

The opportunity to finish Boetsch came one minute into the second round. Sensing Boetsch fading, Hamill poured on the ground and pound until the referee was forced to intervene.

"When I looked at Tim's eyes, he seemed like he was open, so I just pounded and pounded trying to finish him up," he said.

The win over Tim Boetsch improved Hamill's professional and UFC record to 4-1 with his only defeat being by split decision to Michael Bisping.

There has been no word yet from the UFC on what it plans next for Hamill.

 

[Shogun Locc]

HORN HOSTS ELITE FIGHT NIGHT IN SALT LAKE CITY

Jeremy Horn hosted his Elite Fight Night on April 6 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City. With a stacked card and a crowded house, the event turned out to be all that you could have expected and more. The Utah MMA scene is exploding right now and producing some fighters that are sure to begin emerging on a national stage soon.



The highlights of the evening were two brutal knockouts from Demarques Johnson and Hank Weiss that shocked the fans.



Demarques Johnson was matched up against Sterling Nitsuma in the middleweight division. They both landed some solid punches early, but Johnson landed a couple that seemed to stun Sterling and opened a cut around his left eye. Then from out of nowhere, Johnson landed a knee that sent Sterling's mouthpiece 10 feet in the air and him onto his back out cold.



The main event featured Hank Weiss vs. Sean O'Connell, who were fighting in the light heavyweight division. Right off the bat, O’Connell started landing solid shots. They traded for a few minutes before one big punch caught Weiss and dropped him. He seemed to be in trouble, but he announced after the fight he was just playing possum and trying to get the fight to the ground where he is most comfortable.



The fight continued on into the second round, when just seconds in Weiss threw a monster right hand that caught O’Connell and put him out on his back.



Jeremy Horn and Jennifer Howe put together a card that had great fights and tons of action. They announced that they will be putting on another fight in May and will have a special guest referee.



You can visit the home of Jeremy Horn's Elite Performance at www.eliteperformancegym.com.



-Hank Weiss def. Sean O'Connell by KO, R2

-Nick Mamalis def. Travis Marx by Submission, R2

-Mike Arrant def. Harold Lucambio by Split Decision

-Damarques Johnson def. Sterling Nitsuma by KO, R2

-Jeremy Brown def. Nick Rossbourgh by Unanimous Decision

-Cody Udy def. Josh Ackerman by Submission (Kimura), R1

-Lee Doss def. Jaime Anton by TKO, R1

-William Brewer def. Russ Henrie by TKO, R1

-Rick Hinkle def. Nate Best by Split Decision

 

[Shogun Locc]

MASATO WINS MAIN EVENT AT K-1 WORLD MAX

HIROSHIMA, Japan – Twenty-nine year-old Japanese kickboxer Masato out-punched South African boxer Virgil Kalakoda to emerge victorious in the main event at the World Max '08 Final 16 Tournament in Hiroshima.

Masato won the World Max Championship in 2003, and made it to the final last year. Here, Masato wanted to prove he's still a force to be reckoned with. Kalakoda, meanwhile, had won seven of his eleven World Max fights, and stepped in the ring with a chance to claim a spot at the top.

From the opening bell, Masato was the more aggressive fighter, throwing the low kicks and closing with body blows and tight combinations. Kalakoda kept his guard high and close, and but for a couple of unsuccessful punching attempts, did little to challenge.

The South African switched to an unusual cross-arm guard late in the round, and in the second opened up some, shifting his weight forward, looking for way in. But Masato's lateral movement kept him out of trouble, while his zippy punches and kicks to the midsection proved the best strikes of the round. All three scorecards had Masato ahead in both the first and second rounds. One had to wonder what Kalakoda was waiting for.

In the third, Masato's go-to strategy paid off, as he got round his opponent's guard with a right hook. Kalakoda fell hard to canvas, and there was no way was going to beat the count.

"I said I wanted to beat Virgil with a punch and that's what I did," said a beaming Masato in his post-fight interview. "Now, because my predictions are coming true, let me make another one -- I will win the World Max Championship this year!"

The road to this year's World Max Championship has three-stages. The final and semifinals are scheduled for October, and the fighters competing there will be determined at the historic Nippon Budokan in July, when the final eight square off in a quartet of elimination bouts.

The Final 16 Tournament featured 16 fighters from 12 countries in eight elimination matches with the victors going to the Budokan.

Aside from Masato, three other World Max Grand Champions competed in Hiroshima.

Defending and two-time Max champ Andy Souwer of Holland stepped in against the small Greek with the big punch, Mike Zambidis.

The first round saw Zambidis closing sharply to score with a right hook and flying knee, Souwer doing well with numerous low kicks and a punishing right knee. In the second, Zambidis got another knee up and brought on an aggressive barrage of body blows at the clapper, but his front leg was beginning to bruise at the thigh from Souwer's kicks. A hard-fought third round, Souwer continuing to press with the low kicks, Zambidis closing up his guard and blasting in with body blows.

All three judges called it a draw, and so a tiebreaker round was prescribed. Zambidis waited for Souwer to make the first move, a high kick that missed, then exploded with the fists. The Greek fighter's blocking was sound, he it looked like he might have stolen this one – until, after an innocent Souwer jab, he let his right guard drop. Souwer wasted no time firing up a high kick that smacked Zambidis hard on the side of head. Souwer got the win by KO and remarked afterward that he believed he had earned a win after three rounds, but this was a much closer fight than many would have expected.

In the evening's penultimate bout, two-time World Max Grand Champion Buakaw Por Pramuk of Thailand met the first-ever Max Champion, Dutch boxer Albert Kraus.

Buakaw had the more balanced attacks through the first round, mixing it up with punches and kicks, scoring with a left hook. Kraus rarely kicked, but did block most of what came his way, and made good contact with an uppercut. In the second again Buakaw skillfully brought his varied arsenal to play, while Kraus continued to close with the jab and again landed an uppercut. Seemingly indefatigable, Buakaw kept on coming and in the third used the legs and fists alike, but Kraus showed excellent blocking, and pounded in a left straight punch to keep it close.

The judges could not agree on a winner, and so called for an extra round.

Buakaw now threw everything but the kitchen sink at his opponent, but Kraus' evasions and blocking were up to task. It was a tough one to call, and there was a mixed reaction from the crowd when Buakaw's arm was raised.

Kickboxer Yoshihiro Sato, the 2006 World Max Japan Champion, took on Murat Direkci, a tough Turk who had posted an impressive first-round KO victory over Albert Kraus in his last fight.

Sato brought a 10cm/4" height advantage to this fight, but Direkci responded fittingly, using front kicks to control the distance and getting through early with a couple of creative ascending punching attacks. In the second round Sato fired in low kicks, and although these did little to discourage Direkci from coming forward with the fists, they were taking their toll on his legs.

The third saw spirited efforts from both fighters. Sato cocked his opponent's head back with a front kick, and make contact with the left straight punch, Direkci putting an estimable punch through late in the round. The blocking was sound and there was little apparent damage but this was an entertaining technical bout. The win went to Sato by unanimous decision.

Twenty-one year-old Ukrainian kickboxer Artur Kyshenko stepped in against Ray Sefo protégé Jordan Tai of New Zealand in a terrific contest.

An exchange of hard low kicks to start this one, before the fighters switched to punches. Tai put a nice right overhand on target, before Kyshenko came in with straight punches and connected with a sensational high kick. Tai took a hard knee at the end of the first, but got out of the round. Tai pumped up a nice uppercut midway through the second, and while Kyshenko was good with his knees, Tai ably answered one of these with a right punch to score a down late in the round. A furious end to the second…

And a furious start to the third, as all manner of attacks were unleashed: straight punches, spinning back punches, high kicks and knees galore. Kyshenko got a high kick and knee in to drop his opponent, but these were both ruled slips. Tai was aggressive with his fists, and at the end of it all the judges called for a tiebreaker round.

The extra round was again non-stop action, Tai putting in an uppercut and nice high kick; Kyshenko also scoring with a high kick, and rattling his opponent with a mean knee and right cross. If it were possible to raise both fighters' arms, it would have been deserved. As it was, Kyshenko had enough of an edge to get the win.

In a showdown between emerging fighters with consummate provenience, Italian Saro "The Sicilian Don" Presti of Team Peter Aerts met South African Warren Stevelmans, who trains with Remy Bonjasky at the VOS gym that Ernesto Hoost made famous.

The two sparred tentatively through most of the first round before Stevelmans countered a Presti low kick attempt with a left hook to score a late down. It was Stevelmans again in the second round, controlling the fight effectively before charging in with a left knee that connected squarely with his adversary's jaw. The Italian could not beat the count, and Stevelmans had the convincing win.

Armenian dynamo Drago tangoed with Gori, who hails from tiny Rota in the Mariana Islands and fights for the United States. The pair showed similar styles, both testing with jabs and kicks before a Drago left punch distressed Gori, who went stumbling toward the corner but stayed on his feet and escaped the round.

In the second, Drago picked up the pace, and a high kick deposited Gori on the canvas, although this was ruled a slip. The third saw more aggression from the Armenian, who confidently fired in high, front, and ax kicks as he chased Gori round the ring. A body blow earned Drago a down late in the round, after which he attacked with sufficient aggression to score two more downs and finish the fight, the decisive blow, a left hook, coming with only four seconds remaining.

The number four told a different story in the following bout when Yasuhiro Kido, who won the World Max '08 Japan in February, took on South Korean kickboxer Chi Bin Lim. The bell sounded and the pair closed to center-ring, whereupon Kido fired up a right knee to the chin, and Lim went limp and collapsed. Time elapsed? Only four seconds. It appeared no one was more surprised than Kido – who gleefully hopped round the ring to the delight of the crowd.

In a fast and spirited undercard bout, Yuya Yamamoto of Japan went with kicks while Brazilian Marfio "The Warrior Tiger" Canoletti used the fists. There was action from start to finish but in the end Yamamoto was launching the majority of the attacks. Superior stamina proved the difference as the Japanese fighter was awarded a comfortable unanimous decision.

The K-1 World Max '08 Final 16 Tournament attracted 6,700 fans to the Hiroshima Green Arena. It was broadcast live in Japan on the TBS network.

 

[rylor206]

I think Frank shamrock should have a reality show on TV. I would watch it.

 

[Shogun Locc]

I think Frank shamrock should have a reality show on TV. I would watch it.

I would definitely watch.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Video: Yamma Pit Fighting Debut Set
link: http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1521
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 10 -- All fighters made weight for the inaugural Yamma Pit Fighting, scheduled for Friday at Trump Taj Mahal.

Heavyweight tournament favorite Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) missed the 265-pound limit on his first try, weighing in at 267.2. An hour later he was 264.6.

Alternate Bryan Vetell (Pictures) also had to cut a pound.

Plenty of Semaphore Entertainment Group-era UFC personalities were present, including Bruce Beck and Jeff Blatnick, who will call the fights on pay-per-view.

Promoter Bob Meyrowitz has also brought in some of the standout fighters from his stint running the UFC in the 90s. Oleg Taktarov will meet Mark Kerr (Pictures) on the card, and Pat Smith will take on "Butterbean."

Lineup:
Oleg Taktarov (221.2) vs. Mark Kerr (Pictures) (266.2)
Patrick Smith (240) vs. Eric " Butterbean" Esch (Pictures) (416.2)

Heavyweight Tournament
Ricco Rodriguez (Pictures) (264.6) vs. George Bush (Pictures) (231.6)
Travis Wiuff (Pictures) (242.8) vs. Marcelo Pereira (219.4)
Chris Tuscherer (264) vs. Tony Sylvester (262.8)
Sherman Pendergarst (264.6) vs. Alexey Oleinik (Pictures) (220.2)

Alternate Bouts
Antwain Britt (Pictures) (228.2) vs. Bryan Vetell (Pictures) (266)
Lamont Lister (Pictures) (212.6) vs. Oleg Savitsky (199.4)

Standby Alternate
Ron Waterman (Pictures) (264.4)

 

[Shogun Locc]

WVR Gives Sasaki-Santiago Second Try

World Victory Road has decided to not let bygones be bygones, announcing that a once-cancelled bout between Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) and Jorge Santiago (Pictures) will take place on the May 18 Sengoku card at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo.

A Sasaki-Santiago matchup was supposed to happen last November stateside as part of Strikeforce's 185-pound one-night tournament. Sasaki was nixed from the tournament at the last minute, though, due to irregularities in his MRI and MRA exams. Santiago went on to win the tournament in impressive fashion, destroying Sasaki's replacement, Sean Salmon (Pictures), before axing the ever-tough Trevor Prangley (Pictures) in the final.

The win pushed Santiago's win streak to four, which also includes stoppages of notables Jeremy Horn (Pictures) and Andrei Semenov (Pictures).

Sasaki, 31, has yet to compete in '08. His last action came in the form of an easy tune-up, submitting South Korean Bo Guk So in the Deep ring in July.

WVR also announced Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures)'s participation for the June 8 Sengoku card at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, making him the first official fighter on the card.

Fujita, 37, returned to action at Sengoku's debut effort last month with an effortless 83-second submission over K-1 convert Peter Graham (Pictures). As has been the case for most of his recent fight preparations, Fujita departed for Los Angeles on Thursday. He will spend the next two months training with Marco Ruas (Pictures), who has trained "Ironhead" for his last several fights.

Last month, Takanori Gomi (Pictures) announced that he expected to return to full training in mid-April and compete on the June 8 Sengoku card, but his participation has not yet been formalized by World Victory Road.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Deep Lineup Filled with Talent

Shigeru Saeki has stacked Deep's May 19 card at Korakuen Hall.

Deep 35 Impact was already scheduled to feature a host of the promotion's best and brightest, with Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) defending his featherweight crown against Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Pictures) and Kazunori Yokota (Pictures) defending his title against Pang Sung Hwan (Pictures). A new Deep middleweight champion was also already set to be crowned.

Now Saeki has announced that the card will feature two more current champions and two former champions as well.

In one bout, Deep's welterweight king Hidehiko Hasegawa (Pictures) will take on journeyman Hiroki Nagaoka (Pictures) in a non-title affair. Hasegawa hasn't competed since New Year's Eve, when he dropped a decision to Hayato Sakurai (Pictures). The ever-game Nagaoka also fought last in December, taking a decision over Kansai brawler Ken Hamamura (Pictures).

Deep's pint-sized princess of the 99-pound division, Satoko Shinashi (Pictures), will be on the card in a non-title affair against an undetermined opponent. The female star captured Deep's inaugural 99-pound championship in February, defeating both Fukuko Hamada (Pictures) and Sachiko Yamamoto (Pictures) to take the crown.

Announced for Deep's middleweight tournament reserve bout, former divisional champion Ryuta Sakurai (Pictures), who lost to tournament favorite Riki Fukuda (Pictures) in the opening round in February, will fight Young "Ryo" Choi, who was ousted from the bracket by Daijiro Matsui (Pictures) in a close split decision.

Saeki said that after the success of the format in February, the semifinal pairings of Deep's middleweight tournament will be done in the ring via lottery on the night of the event. The remaining fighters are Riki Fukuda (Pictures), Yuya Shirai (Pictures), Daijiro Matsui (Pictures) and Yuichi Nakanishi (Pictures).

Former Deep welterweight champion Jutaro Nakao (Pictures) and Seichi Ikemoto (Pictures) will also be on the card against yet-to-be-determined opposition.

 

[Shogun Locc]

More French Flavor for May's Shooto Tradition?

With a Hayato Sakurai (Pictures)-David Baron (Pictures) bout now set for the May 3 Shooto Tradition card at the new JCB Hall, leading Shooto promoter Sustain may have its eye on another import.

Sustain is looking to bring in Baron's Haute Tension teammate Bendy Casimir for the May 3 card. Casimir's trainer, Jean-Marie Merchet, confirmed the ongoing negotiations to Sherdog.com.

The talented 27-year-old has won his last seven bouts, five of which ended by submission in the first round. However, Casimir's ability to compete on the card cannot be determined until later this month because he's set to face Andre Winner (Pictures) on Cage Warriors' April 19 card in Nottingham, England. If Casimir emerges from that bout unscathed, his May 3 fight in Shooto would likely be finalized.

Although Merchet could not confirm a potential opponent for his charge, a source close to Sustain told Sherdog.com that Yusuke Endo (Pictures) and Shinji Sasaki (Pictures) are strong candidates to meet the Frenchman if he is able to fight on the card.

Sustain is also looking to finalize a seven- or eight-fight card for the May 3 bill, with two or three Class B bouts.

Class A Shooto Welcomes Five More

Shooto Japan continues to define its new crop of talent with five more fighters now bound for Class A Shooto.

The Japanese Shooto Commission has announced the Class A promotions of Hiromasa Ogikubo (Pictures), Hiroshi Nakamura, Shinji Sasaki (Pictures), Junya Kudo (Pictures) and Taisuke Okuno. With Takuya Mori (Pictures) and Shintaro Ishiwatari (Pictures) earning promotions earlier this year, this slew of promotions brings the JSC's list of new Class A Shooto talent to seven thus far in 2008.

The unbeaten Ogikubo was Shooto's 132-pound rookie champion last year and easily the strongest of a relatively weak class of rookies across the board. The precocious Ogikubo, who just turned 21 earlier this month, won the All Japan amateur Shooto championships in 2005 at only 18 years old, echoing the accomplishment of his teammate and trainer Ryota Matsune (Pictures).

Nakamura earned his promotion the old fashioned way, through fighting tooth-and-nail through Class B Shooto. A pupil of Shooto legend Noboru Asahi, Nakamura is undefeated in his last five bouts and was granted Class A status by virtue of his upset victory over the once highly touted Tenkei Fujimiya (Pictures) last month.

The super-slick Sasaki is another in a long line of Shooto lightweight products. With his only loss coming in November 2006 in that year's 154-pound rookie tournament final to Yoshihiro Koyama (Pictures), the dynamic Hiroshiman has won his last three bouts by way of submission.

Unbeaten but largely untested, Junya Kudo (Pictures) figured to spend more time in the proving grounds of Class B Shooto before being considered for promotion. However, the Kobe native punched his ticket to the big time last month with a stirring and brutal 98-second knockout of veteran Akira Kibe (Pictures) in Osaka.

The heavy-hitting Okuno, 2006's rookie runner-up at 168 pounds, earned his promotion through a spirited brawl with undefeated Aussie slugger Xavier Lucas last month in Perth, Australia, which ended in a draw. Shooto Japan's anemic 168-pound class hasn't seen a Class A promotion since December 2005, when Keita Nakamura (Pictures) was promoted following his 2005 rookie tournament win.

Local Shooto promoters have been more than a good bit busy as well, fleshing out the lineups for a multitude of regional Shooto cards in the coming weeks.

Hiroshima-based Shooto promoter Grapplingman put the first installment of its new GIG Torao series in the books last month and has now bolstered its annual mid-May card, which may be its best lineup to date.

The May 18 offering at the Hiroshima Trade Center Exhibition Hall will feature no less than seven pro Shooto fights. Many Hiroshima Shooto cards in the past have featured fewer pro fights and many more amateur Shooto and grappling bouts.

The main event for the bill will pit one of Hiroshima's best fighters in Kenichiro Togashi (Pictures) against last year's Shooto 154-pound rookie champion, Yutaka Ueda.

The slick Togashi, who has long played the proverbial spoiler in pro Shooto, hasn't fought since being pummeled in a TKO loss to Brian Cobb (Pictures) last August. Ueda, a winner of five straight, is coming off a commanding decision over Takahiro Kajita (Pictures) in Nagoya last month.

Another of last year's rookie champions, Kazuhiro Ito (Pictures) will return to action on the card, looking to avenge a loss in his November 2006 pro debut to Daisuke Matsumoto. Ito last saw action in February, when he was victimized into YouTube stardom by Shintaro Ishiwatari (Pictures), who brutally slammed Ito into unconsciousness face first on the canvas. Matsumoto's last bout ended unceremoniously last June. He was halted against Sakae Kasuya (Pictures) in only 57 seconds after suffering a broken nose.

Also scheduled for action on the May 18 card, local favorite Takeshi Okada (Pictures) will take on lovable loser Katsuhisa Akasaki (Pictures), Tatsuro Kamei (Pictures) faces Jun Nagasoe, Takumi Ota (Pictures) and Makoto Akazawa do battle in a 143-pound rookie quarterfinal, Teppei Masuda and Yoshitaka Aki square off in a 115-pound rookie quarterfinal and Shunsuke Nomura meets Keita Yoshida in a 132-pound opening round rookie bout.

Far to the frosted north in Sapporo, Paraestra and TT era have finished a seven-fight card for the May 25 second installment of GIG North.

In an all-action main event between two fighters in desperate need of a win, savvy striker Daisuke Ishizawa (Pictures) will take on hard-luck Hayato Sakurai (Pictures) pupil Tomonori Taniguchi (Pictures). Ishizawa has lost three in a row and needs a win to remain relevant in Class B Shooto. Meanwhile Taniguchi has fought gamely as of late despite a poor record. He has lost several times in recent months on questionable doctor stoppages, which prematurely ended exciting bouts.

Also on the card, Taniguchi's teammates Kunio Nakajima (Pictures) and Hiroki Kuga will meet Sapporan sluggers Hidekazu Asakura (Pictures) and Yoshiki Noguchi (Pictures) respectively, elder statesman Akihiko Adachi (Pictures) faces rookie banger Nouyasu Fujikawa, and Hayato Sato (Pictures) takes on upstart local Fumihito Kitahara.

In rookie tournament action, All Japan amateur champion Yusuke Sato will face Tatsuya Yamamoto (Pictures) in a 115-pound tournament quarterfinal, and Toshihiko Yokoyama (Pictures) faces Atsushi Kobayashi in a 143-pound tournament bout with the winner meeting Hiroshige Tanaka (Pictures) in the quarterfinals.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Tim Sylvia's Manager Talks Sylvia Vs. Fedor

Monte Cox, Tim Sylvia's manager and CEO of Adrenaline MMA, spoke with Fight Network Radio yesterday and elaborated on the status of contract negotiations between his client and Fedor Emelianenko.
“It’s certainly a fight we’d like to do, but as of right now, we’re in the process of looking at the offer and trying to decide whether to do it or not. We haven’t signed a contract yet. At this kind of level, you don’t sign a 42-page contract in two hours. We’ve got attorneys that have to look at it.”

 

[Shogun Locc]

Matt Serra Talks GSP Rematch, Matt Hughes And His Place In MMA

UFC welterweight Champion Matt Serra recently sat down with MMAMadness.com to discuss his place in MMA, his thoughts on Matt Hughes, and his upcoming rematch with Georges St. Pierre. Below are some of the highlights of that conversation.
Matt Serra On His Place In MMA:

I am the MMA version of The Cinderella Man, except my fight didn’t go the distance. When you beat the man, you’re the man. Matt Hughes was the man and he got beat soundly by GSP. I knocked out GSP, so I am the man right now.

Serra On Georges St. Pierre:

Afterward he made up some excuses, but he apologized. He is a young guy who got the belt at an early age. There’s no reason for me to be angry at him. It’s not like Matt Hughes, who I think is a moron. GSP is a good guy.

Serra On Matt Hughes:

I’d like to fight Matt Hughes at some point. That fight has to happen regardless (of what happens against GSP). Too much has been done and said. Some guys win some fights and they become assholes. I’m no different for better or worse. But Matt Hughes brings out the worst in me. He is mentally challenged. I haven’t read his book. People said it makes him sound like a dickhead. That’s not surprising. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Serra On His First Fight With Georges St. Pierre.

People love GSP, but you can’t deny what I have done. You have Matt Hughes saying it was a lucky punch, but he’s a retard. Georges was supposed to be the new MMA god; the guy on the Wheaties box.. As far as everyone was concerned, I was just a little Italian guy that got lucky. It wasn’t one punch.I got the better of every exchange. I had a gameplan and it was my night. People will say what they want to say. I haven’t lost any sleep over it. What can they say anyway? That I didn’t dominate that fight? It doesn’t matter. Critics can’t get into the cage with you unless they are in your head. Look, when I get (to Montreal's Bell Centre), I know (the fans) are going to be against me. That’s Ok. I already have my family and friends, I could use a few enemies. So boo me. Boo me you drunks!